In the winter of 2014, the life of a 52-year-old White/Caucasian male named Lloyd Worster was tragically cut short in Worcester, Massachusetts. On the afternoon of Friday, January 10th, an argument erupted within the security office of the Albion rooming house on Main Street, a place where Worster was employed as the custodian. This altercation would prove to be his last.
His assailant was a 53-year-old security guard at the rooming house, Howard Penn.
While the specifics of their dispute are not entirely clear, it escalated to a point of no return. Penn, who was not licensed to carry a firearm, produced a gun and shot Worster in the back. The single gunshot wound proved fatal. Emergency services were called to the scene, and Worster was rushed to St. Vincent's Hospital, but his life could not be saved. He was pronounced deceased at approximately 6:26 p.m. that evening.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, law enforcement, including the Worcester Police Detective Bureau and SWAT team members, descended upon the Albion rooming house. Their search for the suspect, Howard Penn, was swift and contained to the building. Penn was located within the rooming house and was arrested without incident. He was subsequently charged with homicide.
The legal proceedings that followed saw Howard Penn facing a charge of first-degree murder. However, in August 2016, a Worcester Superior Court jury convicted him of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. The defense had argued that the shooting was an act of self-defense, claiming that Worster had threatened to kill Penn. The verdict was met with disappointment by Worster's family. Penn faced a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison for the killing of Lloyd Worster.
